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Ricotta

By Paula |

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Homemade Ricotta cheese. 

close up of homemade ricotta cheese with cheesecloth around.

Now that we’ve conquered Mascarpone it’s on to RICOTTA. Dare I say, this is even easier than the Mascarpone. I don’t think I’ll ever be buying either one of these cheeses at the store again LOL. Who knew! It’s so SIMPLE! And the taste, oh my GOODness. It’s so ah-mazing warm from the sieve, oh my oh my. Yes, you know I couldn’t resist taking a little taste test!

ricotta cheese on spoon with crumbles surrounding.

I mean look at that spoon full of creamy goodness. I made it in less than 3.5 hours and you can too. I tried making this with fresh lemon and lime juices and I must say I preferred the LIME.

But hey they both worked so if you only have lemon go ahead. Also you’ll need a finely woven cheese cloth. If yours isn’t fine you can layer it a few times and achieve the same effect.

closeup of homemade ricotta cheese with cheesecloth on cutting board with butter knife.
Also be sure that your mixture comes to a rolling boil BEFORE you add in the  juices or it won’t curdle straight away, trust me on this one. When the pot looks like it has little creamy clumps floating all around it then it’s ready to put through the sieve.

It’s almost like magic right before your eyes. Cheese magic that is.

spoon with ricotta, crumbles surrounding.

So satisfying making your own cheeses. I love it spread on warm toasted Italian bread, in my raviolis, who am I kidding I LURVE it however I can get it LOL.

Up next is going to be MOZZARELLA and I can’t tell you how excited I am about this one! Nothing like an Insalata Caprese with fresh Mozzarella. Perfect for the summer.

Happy Cheese Making! 

Ricotta

ricotta cheese with cheesecloth, butter knife on cutting board.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients

  • 8 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice, can substitute lemon juice

Instructions

1. Prepare a sieve lined with fine mesh cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl, set aside.

2. Into a large stockpot add milk, cream and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Stirring constantly. When it has reached a rolling boil add lime juice, reduce heat and stir until mixture curdles.

3. Pour the mixture into the sieve and allow it to sit approximately 1 hour to drain and cool.

4. Discard liquid in bottom bowl.

5. Place sieve into refrigerator to chill for a minimum of two hours. Once chilled, transfer Ricotta to an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

© Paula Jones

Comments

  2. Lan says

    it really is everlovingly simple, isn’t it? i’ve made it once and i was so surprised at hoe beautiful it turned out. i just don’t eat much cheese but i bet they’d make great gifts to cheese-lovers.

    your end result is gorgeous!

  3. Greg says

    I feel the need, the need for cheese. I have got to try this. You were talking about turning a room into a cheese room, did you get a room for your water buffalo to make mozzarella di bufala?

  4. Bobbi says

    How long does it last without adding any preservative? I’m thinking I’ll make it Thursday evening for filling Ravioli for a Sunday dinner party.

    BTW I made that asparagus in parchment recipe you had up in April and loooved it.

    • Paula says

      Thanks Bobbi! So glad you loved the asparagus! I made mine two days before making Ravioli and it was fine. It hasn’t lasted any longer than that at my house before it gets gobbled up : ) Hope that helps!

  5. Melissa says

    Wish my husband and kids like ricotta. This looks so yummy. I can’t wait for your post on mozzarella. Perfect timing as I was looking through blogs to find a recipe for it. I live in an area where we can’t find fresh mozzarella easily and I HATE the plastic store junk. Will be tuning in for that definitely!

  6. Liz Marr, MS, RD says

    When I was growing up, my mom used to make home-made ricotta for lasagna. I haven’t made it in a long time. It’s delicious. Great step-by-step directions. Thanks for the post!

  8. Chris says

    I have been wanting to make ricotta and mozzarella for a long time. I used to watch the Sous at the restaurant. I must get on it. Thanks for sharing! Yum!

    • Paula says

      Ciao Mara! I’ve not tried it with anything but whole milk. If you do happy to try it though please let me know : )

  10. Victoria says

    I’m love love loving your cheese-making series! This looks so much easier than I thought possible. I’ve been wanting to make ricotta gnocchi recently and have heard that fresh ricotta as opposed to store-bought would make a superior product. I may try it completely from scratch now, cheese and all. Thanks so much!!

  11. DessertForTwo says

    Ok, I’m making this. I swear to it. I’ve been wanting to do it forever, and since you said it’s so easy, I’m on it. thanks! 🙂

  13. Farrah says

    This is awesome I wouldn’t have thought it was THAT cheap and only a few ingredients. Here it is in the store they want $4 sometimes $5 when on sale it’s around $3. Thank you so much for posting these helpful recipes, I cannot wait to see what other types of cheese you make.

  17. Betty says

    Is that all there is to it? Why has cheese making always been so mysterious? I am definitely going to try this. Thanks for de-mystifying cheese for me. 🙂

  19. Erin from Long Island says

    It is so amazing to me that different amounts of milk or cream make such a big difference! I make paneer with just milk and lemon juice and it is very solid and dry by comparison. I will be sure to try this next!

  22. Michelle in NZ says

    This looks wonderful, the best ricotta recipe I’ve come across. Adding this post and your great site to my favourites!

    Info for Mara: with a lower fat milk you’ll end up with more whey in the basin below and less cheese in your muslin, but is still “do able”.

  23. Kate says

    Loving the simplicity of these recipes! How much cheese are you yielding per recipe? I don’t mind sacrificing a little milk, but a gallon at a time is a little much for me. 🙂

    Jayne (The Barefoot Kitchen Witch) also has a cheese-making series, although most of hers is “real,” with rennet and such. However, she does show how to make ricotta from the whey of other cheeses and a couple of other methods for curd formation. Very informative!

    • Paula says

      Thanks so much Kate! You get about 2 cups {ish} & it’s only half a gallon that you need {8 cups} to make this recipe! I try to stock up when I go to Sams Club where it’s the most reasonable where I live! Hope that helps : )

  24. Claudia says

    I’ve done this with lemon and also vinegar (prefer the lemon) with grand results. I usually plan on using it within 24 hours. Yours looks like creamy goodness.

  27. Skylar says

    I love making ricotta, its so easy and so delicious! Thanks for sharing (and I think Im going to use lime juice next time)

  28. lani says

    That’s great! I live in a place where ricotta is really hard to find. I love ricotta cheese cream for dessert. Thankyou so much for sharing this, I’ll try it ASAP!
    Have a nice weekend ahead of you!

  30. Ruby says

    Looks fantastically easy and yummy. One thought I had was that I often use muslins (left over from when my kids were babies) to strain yogurt – that would probably be a good substitute for layers of cheesecloth.

  32. Lilli says

    I just discovered the art of home cheesemaking recently and I must say this looks delicious! I will have to try this…

  33. Orchidee says

    In the US we can make homemade ricotta, marscapone and mozzerella out of luxury; in other countries, we make it out of necessity.

  35. Mark says

    I hate to be the jerk that spoils everyone’s fun, and I’d hate to discourage people from cheesemaking, but this is actually farmer’s cheese (aka queso fresco or paneer). Technically, ricotta, which is made from whey, is the opposite of farmer’s cheese, which is made from curds. Ricotta has has a finer texture and is composed almost entirely of protein and little or no fat. Farmer’s cheese, on the other hand, is high in fat and has a somewhat rubbery (sometimes described as “squeaky”) texture. Anyway, it’s a fine cheese, but it’s not ricotta.

    Here is an excellent guide for ricotta and cheesemaking in general:

    http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Ricotta/RICOTTA_00.HTM

  36. Spice Sherpa says

    I was tickled to find this recipe for homemade ricotta. I love ricotta. I add it to crepes, pasta, eggplant, salads and have been known to eat a hefty serving with a little sugar and touch of vanilla extract mixed into it. So delic! By the way, my compliments to the graphics on your blog. They’re very cool!

  37. lisa Bailey says

    I’ve never thought of making my own cheeses. How cool that it’s so easy. I will definitely try this! Love the photos with this post!

  41. Angélica says

    I´ve just made this, and it´s delicious, thank you for sharing this easy recipe. I used 4 tablespoons of lime juice instead of 3 by mistake, but it turned out ok. Here in Mexico is not easy to find ricota, now I can make my own. Thanks

  44. Erin says

    Thank you SO much for such thorough instructions. I made ricotta once before and it was so successful I thought I’d do again today. It wasn’t working out for me and I realized after reading THIS that my milk/cream mixtrue wasn’t hot enough. I tossed it out and just started all over and now, we’re having fresh ricotta on our pizza for dinner..yay!

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